Big tech companies mine data about us and tweak algorithms that can often result in the spread of misinformation, cyberbullying and social division. Billionaire American businessman Frank McCourt Jr does not want to just complain about it, he wants to fix it.
He is putting millions of dollars towards Project Liberty, which he founded, working towards developing a better web for a better world.
“We believe that we can innovate our way forward here by simply creating an alternative to the existing internet,” McCourt told RNZ’s Afternoons.
“It’s the same fundamental internet in terms of the engineering and how it works but rather than have all of our data scraped and accumulated by a few platforms… [where we] aren’t clicking on the terms and conditions of use that they put in front of use and none of us read, let’s have an internet where we own and control our data and the new apps are clicking on our terms and conditions of use for our data.”
The internet went from being decentralised to the app age – “a highly centralised, autocratic and surveillance-based age”.
You can listen to Frank’s segment on RNZ or read the full recap here. Learn more about OUR BIGGEST FIGHT: Reclaiming Liberty, Humanity, and Dignity in the Digital Age on ourbiggestfight.com.